Matthew 27: 62-66
The Crucifixion
26 And as they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus. 27 And there followed him a great multitude of the people and of women who were mourning and lamenting for him. 28 But turning to them Jesus said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ 30 Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ 31 For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?”32 Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. 33 And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. 34 And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments. 35 And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” 36 The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine 37 and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” 38 There was also an inscription over him,“This is the King of the Jews.”39 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him,saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your
“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” are the first words of Jesus from the cross. The power of these words had an immediate impact as we will see but for the generations that followed. In fact many early martyrs imitated Christ’s forgiveness of His enemies when they were facing their own executions.
Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and addressed God as “Father.” You see He did not pray for Himself; He did not ask to be taken from the cross or to be delivered from His sufferings. He prayed for those who had brought Him to this moment. He prayed to God, His Father, that they should be forgiven, and He even added an excuse for them: “They do not know what they are doing.”
Jesus had taught forgiveness. “Love your enemies,” He had said. “Do good to those who hate you, and love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matt. 5:44). On the cross He added to His this teaching the power of His example.
So who was Jesus praying for? He prayed for those who were directly responsible for His condemnation and crucifixion, the leaders of the Jews — the chief priests, Scribes, and Pharisees. They opposed Jesus throughout His public ministry and on many occasions they had plotted to put Him to death. Finally they arrested him, condemned Him before their own tribunal, and brought about His execution by threatening the Roman procurator with a denunciation to the emperor.
Jesus was also praying for the Jewish people who had joined their leaders in persecuting Christ. Many had heard Christ’s teachings and had even witnessed His miracles. They let themselves be led astray to such so much so that they had helped put pressure on Pilate to secure Christ’s condemnation.
Jesus prayer must have also included Pontius Pilate as he had played a part in Christ’s condemnation and execution. On three separate occasions he declared Christ innocent, but when faced with the threat of denunciation to the emperor, he capitulated and condemned Him to death.
So what happened at the cross after Jesus uttered these words? Shortly after this one of the robbers crucified alongside Him confessed belief in Him. At the moment of Jesus’ death, others were converted, partly, no doubt, because of the marvels that occurred at that time. The centurion in charge of the crucifixion declared Jesus to be a just man. The people who had come out to gawk at the spectacle of his crucifixion began to beat their breasts as a sign of repentance (Luke 23:48). Later as we read in the book of Acts, large numbers of the people became Christians (Acts 2:41; 4:4), which included many priests (Acts 6:7) and Pharisees (Acts 15:5).
Lord, as you hung on the cross you ask our Father to forgive them their sins. Lord may we follow the example you set. Most of us won’t share the fate of the martyrs who uttered the same prayer but the least we can and the thing we are command to do is to forgive. Lord help us to forgive those who have wronged us for it is our forgiveness that you placed the condition of our own forgiveness. Lord, we thank you for the suffering you endured on the cross, a punishment you took for all those who choose to believe in you. We thank you. Amen.
*This blogpost was adapted from Ralph Gorman’s The Last Hours of Jesus: From Gethsemane to Golgotha.